Wade Benson is an Alt-Folk / Roots-Rawk musician living in Toronto, Canada.
Music doesn’t come easy to Wade, no one taught him how to start down this path. He was a music class drop out. That was the beginning. He stubbornly ventured into music on his own terms and now he can’t, or won’t, turn it off… he probably wasn’t paying attention if anyone ever showed him the kill switch.
In need of a much less hands on instructor, one of his most influential musical mentors came in the form of his grandfather who passed away years before Wade was born. “I had heard that my grandfather was a guitar and violin teacher”, recalls Wade, “and when I started playing guitar seriously, I would pour over his hand written notes and scales. I wanted desperately to be able to play his lesson plans and progressions. Much of the colour in my chord progressions comes either directly from his jazz notes, like ‘Cottage Love’, or the instruction books he had collected”.
Wade’s eyes and ears were first focused on the Toronto music scene of the early 90’s and he cites countless Canadian musicians passing through as influences - The Lowest of the Low, The Tragically Hip, Sloan, Blue Rodeo, Big Sugar, 54-40, Ron Sexsmith, The Rheostatics, Treble Charger, Hayden, The Pursuit of Hapiness…… all of whom left their impression in some respect.
It was while studying at the University of Waterloo that Wade began settling in to the Singer/Songwriter scene. “I was a part of a great band called the Acid Folk, but every term we would lose half our members to co-op jobs or something. I loved playing in a band, but realized I would have to be ready to hit the stage solo to bridge the gaps when we were looking for new blood.” Waterloo has a solid circuit of open mic nights and venues for independent artists to work out new material and get exposure. By the end of his stay there, Wade was ready to return to Toronto as a road tested solo artist.
Spanning over a decade of performing, Wade has played small pubs and cafes to larger clubs and theatres. From ‘The only Café’ and ‘Free Times Café’ to the ‘El Mocambo’ the ‘Opera House’ and the ‘Sound Academy’ in Toronto. One of his most nerve-racking dates was at Waterloo’s Humanities Theatre – “I was opening up for Ashley MacIsaac for a free lunch hour show. It was my largest gig at the time and first in a seated theatre. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop and it wasn’t for lack of people – you’d think I’d be happy to have a change from the noise and bustle of a campus pub but I really wanted a drink myself!”
Wade is currently preparing to record some of his own eclectic brand of Alt-Folk / Roots-Rawk. To quote Oscar Wilde ‘Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative’. Wade is not one to back down from the challenge of a new sonic landscape. “It’s a great time to be an independent musician – with new distribution outlets you’re free to explore musical textures and structures, and you can get your art out there as far as you want and still be in control to follow each song down it’s own path.”
‘The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese’ – as written on Willie Nelson’s Coffee Maker.
Wade Benson Video: 'Twister' @ Graffiti's Bar & Grill, Toronto, ON
Wade Benson – Quick Facts
• Purveyor of fine music and lyrics since 1994
• Acoustic Guitar based Alt-Folk / Roots-Rawk
• Independent Recordings include:
o The Acid Folk Live at CKMS - 1999
o Wade Benson – 2003
o Wade Benson – Washago EP – 2007
o Wade Benson – Dusty Roads – TBD / 2009
• Live Performances across Canada, USA, Mexico and the UK
• Currently performing solo
• Wade makes his home in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Yay! You found me on MySpace. I watched your videos and its confirmed that you'd be great fun to watch live. You have great stage presence as well as musical charisma. You've got the complete package.
Hey
Just a wee message to let you know that to celebrate this album launch in good old Toronto I've put up on my page 3 live tracks from my show in Seattle in May, all for FREE download. Go on, grab 'em and enjoy.
Its nice to be in Canada.
Cheers,
Justin
Great to be friends - really appreciate your sound! We have lots of updates and a good bunch of shows being added, so stop by anytime - we'd love to hear from you!
the show was only moderately acceptable because of that smokin' hot opening act...namely thou and thy glory. i don't know if you know this, but you seem to glow like a heavenly wonderment when you're just standing around talking about girls and/or wrestling and/or wrestling with girls. and finally: you make good pudding.
Hey Wade -- thanks for the feedback. Graffiti's was a really fun set, especially since it's the first in a while. Really looking forward to more with the new disk too. Cheers,
m.
We're not comfortable with the idea of you writing such great tunes with our drummer. Really, he drags you down, you'd be better without him. Your songs are far beyond his grasp....musically and emotionally.
He's an idiot. You're too good for him.
But keep up the awesome music! Don't let him sully your vision!
Great set the other night at The Cameron House! Hope you had good time. It was a real pleasure hearing your tunes. I have to say, I'm pretty impressed with your precision on the guitar. And thanks for your CD. It'll be cool to have it in my collection of car CD's. (I listen to a lot of music in the car.)
So, let's most definitely do it up again sometime soon, either your town or mine. :)
